Friday, February 24, 2017

If Trump Is Serious About Illegal Immigration, He Ought To Rethink DACA

President Trump has signaled that cracking down on human trafficking and illegal immigration are important priorities for his administration. So why is he keeping an Obama-era program that’s delivered thousands of undocumented children into the hands of traffickers?

Last week, Department of Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly signed memos outlining how the Trump administration plans to implement the president’s executive orders that crack down on illegal immigration and human trafficking across our southern border. Of note, these memos state that Obama’s Deferred Action for Child Arrivals program, which exempts minors illegally residing in the United States from deportation, will be left in place for now.

As The Federalist reported, tens of thousands of children have been illegally brought into the United States under the auspices of DACA, and the government has no idea what’s become of thousands. Many of the lost children are being trafficked and sold into some form of slavery, sexual or otherwise.

The government has done a poor job of ensuring the safety of these children. Of the 155,000 children who’ve been apprehended at the southern border since 2013 and placed under the care of the Department of Health and Human Services, the agency has lost thousands.